From the Pastor: 6.24.12

By the time you read this, the “Fortnight for Freedom” designed and led by our U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will be underway.  These two weeks of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action – which began on June 21 and will culminate with Independence Day, July 4 – are meant to foster “a great hymn of prayer for our country,” and “a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty.” It is the belief of our bishops – and indeed, of many other Christians and believers in other religious creeds – that our religious freedom in...

From the Pastor: 6.17.12

In my June 3 Bulletin column on “why they (alienated Catholics) left,” I mentioned three frequently cited reasons for the exodus: poor preaching, clericalism, and lack of a sense of community.  Having commented last week (6/10) on the issue of poor preaching, let me turn this week to the other two… “Clericalism” is a tricky one because, in fact, the Church does reserve certain functions (like administration of the sacraments and preaching) exclusively to the ordained.  But going back at least as far as my years as a seminary faculty member (1993-2000), I have...

Homily: 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)...

When I was inAustraliafor my Jesuit tertianship in 1999, I spent the better part of a month directing Ignatian retreats at St. Mary’s parish in Swan Hill, a small city in the state ofVictoria.  The area around Swan Hill is largely agricultural; and that is how I came to attend my one and only “farm show.”  I have to say, it was a revelation for this non-farm boy! I was stunned, for instance, at the size of the tractors, combines, and so on, which were easily 4 to 5 times the size of the standard-issue John Deeres which I was used to from the farms around my home...

Homily: Trinity Sunday

Well, here we are again – Trinity Sunday.  Once a year, whether we need it or not, we consecrate the Sunday after Pentecost to celebrating – and pondering – the mystery of our unique Christian belief about God.  As the spiritual descendants of our elder sisters and brothers in faith, the Jews, we naturally believe that God is One.  Yet somehow, we also believe that same God to be triune – we name God Father, Son, and Spirit.  Each year when I have to wrestle with what to say about this mystery, I think about what the great 20th-century Jesuit theologian, Karl...

Homily: Pentecost Sunday

Ancient peoples from traditional cultures – whom we modern first-world types, in our arrogance, used to call “primitive peoples” – often displayed insight and wisdom which our “civilization” has caused us to forget.  For instance, traditional peoples retained a certain humility in the face of life’s mysteries – they intuitively grasped that not everything can be understood or explained by our limited human capacities.  That is why, in dealing with mysteries, they more often resorted to poetry, story, and symbol. One such mystery is the Holy Spirit – a...

Homily: 7th Sunday in Easter

These last days of the Easter season, leading up to Pentecost, mark a time of transition and expectant waiting.  Jesus’ death marked the end of his ministry as an itinerant human rabbi.  The astonishing and unanticipated event of his resurrection, and his appearances to his followers during the forty days thereafter, then ushered in a new phase.  The one whom the disciples had seen tortured and executed was alive again.  He was himself, the Jesus whom the disciples had known – able to eat with and touch and call his friends by name.  But he was also different –...

Homily: Ascension Thursday

Scholars who study transition and change break the process into three phases: separation, liminality, and re-integration.  Separation marks the end of the former life stage; liminality (from the Latin word for threshold) marks an in-between period which can seem confusing and mysterious; and re-integration marks the beginning of the new life stage.  So, for instance, when a person loses their spouse, it marks the moment of separation – not only from the departed loved one, but also from the surviving partner’s identity as “husband of X” or “wife of X.”  The...

Homily: 6th Sunday in Easter

“What is this thing called love, this funny thing called love?  Just who can solve its mystery?  Why should it make a fool of me?”  I thought of this question posed by the great songwriter, Cole Porter, as I prayed with this morning’s readings.  Love is, after all, the heart of the Good News as proclaimed by Jesus – in particular in the Gospel and letters of St. John, both of which we heard from this morning.  But the problem is, of course, that while few things in our human experience are more vital or powerful than love, it is also the case that few are more...

Homily: 5th Sunday in Easter

Well, I suppose vines and branches are somewhat more accessible than last week’s shepherds and sheep.  After all, while we may not know grapevines in particular, many of us have at least puttered in a garden on occasion; and the rest of us have certainly seen houseplants.  Whether we’re any good with plants or not – and I am generally NOT! – we understand the basics.  To grow and thrive, they need healthy soil rich in nutrients, the right amount of sunshine, and the right amount of water.   We also understand that the parts of a plant interconnect, just as do...

Homily: 3rd Sunday in Easter

“To see or not to see – that is the question.”  Apologies to Shakespeare for that, but it seems to be the right question or issue in considering today’s Scriptures on this 3rd Sunday of Easter.  In his post-Pentecost preaching in Acts, for instance, Peter is helping the crowds who have just received the Holy Spirit to “see” their past lives in a new light.  Recall that the members of his audience are, like Peter himself, Jewish; Luke tells us in the preceding chapter that “there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem,...